25th July, Bangkok: Iddin Sorkapli of Malaysia edged newly-crowned Men's Grade B Masters champion, Lin Yufeng to win the Men's Grade A Masters title at the 47th MWA-Singha Thailand International Open while Singapore swept the Senior Masters finals.

Lin set a cracking pace with an opening game of 256 to lead Muhd Zariff Nazmi of Malaysia by 18 pins. The Taiwanese added another splendid 237 in the second game but was unable to stretch his lead when Muhd Zariff shot another good game of 236.

A 214 in the third game allowed Lin to remain in the lead as Sorkapli fired a stunning 265 to move within 20 pins off the leader in second while Muhd Zariff slipped to third. Sorkapli narrowed the gap to just 5 pins with 224 as Lin managed only 209 after the fourth game.

Sorkapli surged into the lead with a superb 248 in the fifth game. Lin dropped to second after a poor 173. Hong Kong's Oscar Poon made his move to improve to third with Muhd Zariff dropping out of contention.

Meanhwile, Singapore veterans swept the top 3 podium places in the Senior Masters finals. Last year's first runner-up, Adam Chew took the crown with 1393, including a 14-pin handicap per game for being 68 years in age.

His compatriot, Nelson Young, who led from the start until the fourth game after losing the lead to Chew. Young settled for second position with 1326. Hairon Bin Awang completed Singapore's clean sweep with a third place finish on a total of 1258.

Thailand's Atipat Klanbida and Tuchchakorn Senabodee completed the top 5 with 1250 and 1248 respectively. Chew, Young and Awang earned 60,000, 30,000 and 15,000 in prize money for finishing first, second and third respectively.

The classic-style qualifying rounds for the Open division will be held over the next three days, 5 games each day commencing tomorrow. There will be four squads comprising of a total 189 registered players. 52 in Squad A, 35 in Squad B, 52 in Squad C and 52 in Squad D.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok, Thailand.